Today is Her Birthday

Today is his birthday
He will wake content
His big plans will consist of a lunch date on the fly with colleagues
The best part will be his favourite home-cooked meal with his wife and kids
He’s really past gift-giving but the family is not
The kids will buy him something “useful” that he’ll try to imagine using
He’ll enjoy the unwrapping part the most
Hopefully cake or something sweet will end the day.

Today is her birthday
She will jump out of bed squealing all the way down to breakfast
Mom will have fixed a balloon and ribbons at her seat
She gets chocolate chip pancakes as requested but not until dinner
A weekday is too frantic for such fancy-meal mornings
She will not walk but skip all the way to school
There she will be kindly greeted by all her friends since she reminded them the day before
Then, after school, the delicious dinner, her brothers will shout their silly greetings, there will be wonderful presents and cake with Gran and Gramps
Her Barbie PARTY will be on the weekend
It will be a fantastical day!

Today is his birthday
His new bride has already started with a surprise
He wakes to find a post-it note on his smartphone by the bedside
He smiles and reads it
He must go straight to the kitchen, no bathroom break first
He dutifully obeys to find a hearty HUNGRY MAN meal prepared complete with a wack-load of bacon
His wife stands by the table glowing
All he wants to do is stay in bed with her the ENTIRE day
Of course she won’t go for that
After work, they will meet up at his favourite Italian restaurant
He will savour each bite, and sip of the best wine he has ever tasted
Their friends will join them later at the bar down the street from their home
He will be fuzzy and incredibly happy by the time his head hits the pillow…

Today is HER birthday
She will wake alone
The dog will lick her cold feet as she gets out of bed
She will sit and have her morning coffee
The TV will be on and then it will all really begin
“The word” will be said, that number title as if no one remembers the actual name of the month anymore
The shiny broadcasters will try to seem sincere
She knows she should cut them some slack since they also live in the “City that Never sleeps” and must have been touched by it somehow
Still, she will cringe when she hears them speak of it
There will be best wishes offered but they will be swept away with the dirty dishes
She will listen to the mayor, the president, those affected, as the bell tolls at the place
She will force herself to pause and say a prayer for a face she desperately longs to see
But the ache in her heart will rip her open again
And she will end up spending the rest of the day trying to close it.